IWTV Worth Watching: Space Pirates! Work Horsemen! Quack! Colony!

Space Pirates (Space Monkey/Shane Sabre) vs. Work Horsemen (JD Drake/Anthony Henry) Freelance Wrestling 6/14/19

ER: Fun tag that didn't get the ending it deserved, but had a real nice extended peril segment from Space Monkey, with some big fireworks happening once we dropped the tag structure. Work Horsemen get rid of Sabre fairly quickly, and I got really into the story of Space Monkey going alone, EXTREMELY disappointed in the commentary crew (one of whom sounded uncannily like me, no joke) not pointing out that - due to his NASA training - he was used to going it alone for long, lonely missions. We had nearly 10 minutes of Sabre being gone, leaving his boy in their alone, and nobody is talking about all the sensory deprivation training Space Monkey had gone through. I thought they did real interesting things with SM getting to the corner and finally noticing Sabre wasn't there, continuing to eat a beating, making it back to the corner, only to find Sabre still not there. Henry mocks Monkey, gets on the apron and reaches in the for tag, and then Space Monkey starts kicking at Henry, knocking him to the floor, then hitting a mean baseball slide. I loved how they handled Space Monkey getting back into the action, not just having him eat a 7-10 minute beating and then make a comeback, but instead finding a couple logical ways to have the action swing (har har) into his favor. Space Monkey is essentially El Generico, only I liked how SM peppered in his comebacks, dug those tornado DDTs that Drake and Henry took on the side of their respective heads. What I didn't love, was Sabre's eventual hot tag. I don't like a lot of his offense, and coming in after a 10 minute layoff and hitting a silly spinning facebuster isn't going to cut it.

But we do build to a nice and hot finish run with some real cool sequences strung together. My favorite was Space Monkey hitting the Molly go Round on Drake only to eat an immediate kick from Henry, who then eats an immediate spear from Sabre. That's a sequence that isn't played, and they executed it great. The nearfalls were good, genuinely thought Space Monkey was going to pull things out, and I liked the way they swung momentum throughout. They were good at not just having someone start hitting their offense until their turn was up, instead turning in situations like Drake catching a Monkey rana and powerbombing him onto Sabre. I really dug where they were taking this and was there for the full ride, but the match ended disappointingly on an unseen count out. Both teams brawled outside and cameras weren't able to follow, so we stare at fans' midsections for a couple minutes until the ref gets in the ring to call it off. Flat. Still, Space Monkey is someone who stood out over our long ass WrestleMania day, and I took a blind stab at this match, left even more impressed and fully into his face in peril tag work. With a proper finish this would have landed on our MOTY list, and he was the chief reason why.

Mike Quackenbush/Lance Lude/Rob Killjoy vs. The Colony (Fire Ant/Green Ant/Thief Ant) Flying V Fights 7/13/19

ER: Quack has been working more in 2019 than he worked the last 6 years combined, heading several trios and atomicos matches. A lot of the earlier sections were Quack working primarily Green Ant, sending him through cool holds and nice mat exchanges. I know people who don't love Quack think his stuff looks too exhibition-y, and I think it looks that way because it looks so odd, as it certainly doesn't look that way because he's having trouble applying moves or requiring a ton of time stand still moments. He has a singularly vision for wrestling and pulls it off. I love the foot stomps he uses to set up spots, and he doesn't skip steps in mat exchanges. I love his maestro style of matwork where you can see each step of the move but can't necessarily prevent it from happening, and some of the leverage spots he pulls guys into come off physically super impressive. I loved him twisting Green Ant's arm one way while maneuvering Ant's legs with his own legs, throwing distraction to one body part while always working towards another. He locks on a weird inverted bow and arrow and lifts GA upside down over his own knee in a way that comes off effortlessly, as if he knows the proper ways to lift someone while exerting the least amount of force.

Match gets derailed for awhile when we work a very long comedy routine with Coach Mikey accidentally catching an Ant, then wanting to get involved, then not being allowed, then pouting, the kind of several minute distraction that you expect to happen in Chikara and Chikara-related matches, but I certainly never look forward to it. The comedy chops improv stretch did at least divide the match into two main segments, before comedy halted everything it had been all mat based, and after the comedy wall was when we went into full spot sprint, which was great. Ducks are both guys with some nice spots, who take big bumps. Killjoy drops a really great sitout powerbomb, Lude comes into the ring with that cool Erin O'Grady rope flip rana and gets dropped with a disgusting neckbreaker/powerbomb combo, Launchpad McQuack hits hard and gets a good nearfall, Quack continues hitting cool little legsweeps and works a slick abdominal stretch/reversal/roll back into the stretch (like the action was rewound but came off perfect), Lude and Killjoy hit a cool moonsault combo, the Ant Hill is a pretty great triple team move, a weird Eiffel tower spot ending in a splash; basically there was lots of great stuff. Fire Ant clearly has the most polish out of the Ants (pretty sure he is an original Ant, so he's been doing this for awhile) and I wish we got a lot more Fire/Quack, but Quack seemed to mostly punish Green. I dig the way Quack sets up these trios matches, and it's a format I dig watching him in. 

Arik Royal vs. Isaiah Frazier CRAB 8/3/19

ER: This was shorter than I wanted, only 5 minutes, but made sense as Frazier had worked earlier in the evening. So considering he had already worked, I like how they approached this even though I was hoping for more of a match. Royal drops him right at the bell with a Face Jam, and I'm a big fan of Royal matches where he's working with an immediate head start. He's great at working as the cocky guy with an advantage, and great at showing ass when he's getting his comeuppance. I love Royal talking smack to ringside fans before turning around and hitting his sliding shoulderblock, and I dug Frazier's two big comeback topes. Royal is super skilled at taking big offense right next to fans, without putting fans in any danger. That's kind of a specific skill, but one of many for him. Royal bookends this nicely with another Face Jam to finish. This was a smart way to work the match to set up future Royal title defenses, so I can't really be critical of the ring work, which was good.

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BCW/CWF Mid-Atlantic Tap Out Cancer 11/12/17

ER: I saw the full show got posted online (Lee/White Mike, the 4 way, and CW/James aired on CWF TV) and the rest of the card was super intriguing (especially that main event!) that I figured I'd check it all out. This will all surely lead to me doing a NC road trip and doing a road report. I really love the scene they have there and need to start documenting as much of it as is available.

 Chris "TNT" Taylor vs. Beastly Brody

ER: Perfectly acceptable match on a card like this. I've not seen Brody before but he works a little more like Barbaro Cavenario than Bruiser Brody, and an American indy Barbaro would be a welcome thing (although this one has a little more respect for his knees). Taylor is getting there and would probably be better if he dropped some unnecessary flourishes; just focus on throwing a decent lariat or punch, not the 360 spin before the punch or lariat. Both guys do some things I like, Brody commits on a splash and has good energy.

Snooty Foxx vs. Tre G

ER: Pretty simple match with G trying to go toe to toe early, running into a lariat and Snooty's great leaping back elbow, then spending the rest of the match trying to cheat or trying to get Foxx to make a mistake. G is good at stooging into Foxx offense, like jawing with fans leading to him turning around into a side slam. I like how Foxx keeps things simple. There are too many large rookies that get into wrestling now and want to learn a standing moonsault. Foxx is learning more valuable skills like how to be a large guy but still sell convincingly. The end got a little silly with G's second interfering from the floor, leading to a kind of missed ball shot, then some fine fake weapon hiding that Foxx kicks out of. The ending was kind of a mess. But I like Snooty's powerslam finish, and the match was worthwhile.

Ricky Morton vs. Matt Houston

ER: 60 year old Ricky Morton is plump, but still unafraid to wrestle without a shirt, and that still means something in this crazy world. And this was about what my brain pictured a 2017 Ricky Morton match looking like. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but there were enough moments to make it an enjoyable watch. Houston is a fat cowboy in his 40s, which is a worker I'm going to like, and he's good bumping around for Morton, running into a boot in the corner, nothing flashy but a good opponent for a 60 year old Morton. Ricky still throws a nice overhand punch, nice kneelift, and ended the match with a really great roll up. The match was probably worth watching for the roll-up. It was a gifable roll-up. He stopped his momentum in the corner by sliding down and grabbing the bottom rope, then yanked Houston by the trunks as he as he ran by, and got in tight for a snug roll-up. It was a roll-up that would believably win a match.

Dave & Zane Dawson vs. The Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude/Rob Killjoy)

ER: You knew these teams would match up nicely, so that's not a shocker. These teams have their bit down, and it's always worth checking out. This had a bunch of fun "Killjoy using Lude as projectile" moments, like Lude rolling into a Killjoy-assisted backdrop or getting launched over to the floor (and caught) or soaring off Killjoy's legs to nail Launchpad McQuack. It's a real fun thing they got going. Dawsons really busted butt here, and they're both good at killing the Ducks while also looking vulnerable to guys so much smaller than them, eating a couple big dives from them and takings ranas (Zane flies all the way across the ring off a Lude rana), and doing Phillie Phanatic prat falls for them. I liked when Dawsons would just brute force their way through a Ducks flying spot, like Lude getting punched out of the air or Dave surprising with a dropkick during a rope running spot. It's a great thing they have.

Cain Justice vs. Darius Lockhart vs. Nick Richards

ER: The match goes a shade past 5 minutes, but they manage to get a lot of cool stuff into those 5 minutes. We get a couple great early moments of alliances turning on Justice, with Lockhart sending him running into Richards (who sidesteps him and sends Cain to the floor), and then Cain getting back in and getting punched by both Richards and Lockhart to send him to the floor again. The brawling around the floor was good, with Lockhart hitting a big flip dive as the other two brawled, and then doing some fun disjointed floor fighting. And by that I mean nothing was timed and dodged, nothing looked rehearsed, just a three man tangle with awkward shots like Richards getting elbowed in the back of the head. I thought everybody worked around being the third man well, and I liked the opportunistic finish with Richards hitting the cutter on Lockhart, but Cain hitting Richards in the eyes and stealing the pin. They made the most of their allotted time.

PAS:  Fun short match. Cain is really great at these small show benefit cards. He is such an expressive wrestler that he can really bring a crowd into what is happening. Even in a random three way with no stakes, he can make you want to see him get his ass kicked (apparently this fed ran Cain vs. Trevor Lee in a cage but that show is not on youtube, talk about a holy grail). I like all three of these guys a bunch and they really kept it moving and kept in entertaining. Cain stealing the pin is the perfect finish.

ER: We wrote up the next the matches (Trevor Lee vs. White Mike, CW Anderson vs. Mark James, and Royal vs. Sterling vs. Skyler vs. Tracer X) as part of CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 135. All three are worth watching, especially the singles matches.

Career vs. Career: Damien Wayne vs. Lee Valiant

ER: Real good match, and a perfectly respectable way to end a 10+ year career. Valiant was allegedly a babyface for a big chunk of his career, but I've only seen him as a heel and can't really picture him as anything else. But, against a bruiser like Damien Wayne it showed through. Both guys worked tight (as you'd expect in a big stips match) and both took some nasty spills. Wayne will take your punches, but he'll be right there to fire back with hard shots to the stomach (Wayne may have the best kicks to the stomach in wrestling) and chops that will be harder than most wrestlers you will ever face. Valiant takes a nice beating, including a Lawler level bump into the ringpost on the floor. Wayne goes in big on everything, so that leaves him open to some big misses, like a huge bump over the top to the floor on a missed charge, and those misses lead to a Valiant comeback. Wayne bleeds big on Valiant's comeback, but was a total monster throughout, hitting increasingly bigger and meaner elbowdrops (a big rotating one, a bigger, meaner, and prettier one off the top, and then the match ender off the top with Valiant under a chair), and a big sunset flip powerbomb off the top. Wayne never skimps on pins, using full body weight, making each Lee kickout seem like a big moment. Very good match, and hats off to some tertiary people in the match: I really liked the moment where Wayne was pissed about a two count and shoved the ref over (while the ref was on a knee standing up). The ref jumped up to his feet and got in Wayne's face that it was only a two count. It was done in a way where Wayne didn't act afraid of the fired up ref, and the ref didn't back down, but never looked like he was getting any kind of shine. And post-match, hats off to whomever filmed this video, as I really liked the looks at Valiant hugging friends in and out of the business, and the close-ups on the wrestling boots he left in the ring. Nice work by everyone involved.

PAS: This was really good. I have also only ever seen Vailant as a sleazy heel, but he was really good working under against Wayne. Damien Wayne is one of my long time favorites and he was a beast here, moving forward lacing Valiant with hard chops and all timer punches. I loved how he cut off Valiant's top rope attack with that hanging neckbreaker and hanging legdrop, such a hard combo to pull off without looking contrived and Wayne and Valiant pulled it off. The double juice helped the stakes of the match too, most of my Wayne experience has been from no-blood Virginia, but that was a great grimy blade job. I did think maybe Lee needed one more big near fall, if he was dropping his career, but otherwise this was great stuff, a quality coda to Valiant's career and a reminder of how good Damien Wayne can be.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE CAIN JUSTICE

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 138

Episode 138

Mike Mars vs. Dirty Daddy

ER: I thought Mars had a big chance to win, but I wasn't expecting this! Daddy came out in the serious title defense braids, and started the match super aggressive. I like the story of the brief match, that Daddy came out hot and went toe to toe, realizing too late that a more defensive approach might have been better. He got caught up in defending HIS belt, and it cost him. All of Daddy's elbows looked great, flying into Mars and almost seeming like it would work, but Mars caught him twice with big, jarring slams. Surprising result, loved the frustration showed by Daddy after the match, but very curious where it goes. Daddy is clearly good enough that he's beyond a rising talent.

PAS: I really enjoyed Daddy coming out ready to brawl and paying for it. Those elbows were great, and all of the big slams felt like match finishing moves. Still a two minute title loss did feel like a bit of a burial for Daddy, the kind of thing Watts would do if a guy was moving on (maybe Watts did this to Dirty Daddy when he left for Continental). Was he riding with Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Grenada last night?

Lance Lude/Rob Killjoy/Matty de Nero vs. White Mike Jordan/Timmy Lou Retton/Ethan Alexander Sharpe

ER: This was a blast, and it seems that the Ducklings and the Gymnasties can't really have an uninteresting match against each other. White Mike gets in a good joke about BattleCade now being 18 years old, and therefor legal. I feel like such a boob for not being into White Mike from the first time I saw him a year + ago. I think I just wasn't expecting him, because by this point he's someone who regularly fills me with joy. His comedy works for me, his athleticism constantly still surprises me, and he's just got this great assured charisma. He's got a build like tiny Akebono with round body and skinny arms, but he's so good! He knows what he's doing. I was also really in the weeds on Matty D. I saw he showed up last BattleCade but nothing else for CWF, and I don't get him. There were a couple of times where he was staring into the camera like someone who didn't know what a camera was. He has the eyes of a new roommate you catch watching you sleep, or like someone who is trying to imitate human skin. I would personally burn him with fire, but I'm all for Sharpe just throwing a his big uppercut at him instead. Launchpad McQuack is one of my favorite tag moves, love how Lude gets launched like a projectile, and Ducks are just a super fun team. I dug Sharpe throwing Retton to the finish, and then getting caught post match and eating White Mike's awesome neck snap can opener, love that we get to see these guys back for Kernodle.

PAS: This was pretty fun stuff, the Gymnasties and Ducks work each other so much that they really have their shtick down pat. I am not sure what Matty D is about, he seemed more like a package of quirks then any real character. He feels like a guy who shows up to college and starts wearing a colorful scarf and smoking a pipe to be an individual, like he hasn't figured out his Chikara gimmick so he is doing 10 at a time,  I did like his diving punch though. White Mike is super entertaining, and it is always crazy to watch him work athletic workrate wrestling, he looks like such a slug and can move like Juventud Guerrera.

Tracer X vs. Cam Carter vs. John Skyler vs. Mace Li vs. Michael McAllister vs. Ray Kandrack vs. Aric Andrews vs. Snooty Foxx

ER: This is a pinfalls/over the top rumble for the Golden Ticket, winner gets to challenge for any belt in any kind of match, which feels like a way to work some fun shenanigans. If I had a Golden Ticket couldn't I could theoretically challenge Trevor Lee in a "Winner Must Be Eric" match. But anyway this was good, although I wish they chose a firm direction, either do a full violent battle royal with a couple monsters dishing beatings (like they had Kandrack doing), or do a wacky AJPW battle royal and have multiple guys pinning one big name at a time to eliminate them, and get us to surprise finalist. But I'm glad we got a big return from Kandrack, treated as a real big deal, building him up like Andre tossing around three men. I do wish McAllister got more of a showing as I loved him in the Nick Richards match. Here he kind of gets run over. But Kandrack plows into people with his body, throws a cool headbutt, leans way into kicks and strikes, catches a crossbody off the top from Tracer X (and catches him low to the mat which is some impressive strength) and slams him, just a cool performance. It comes down to Andrews and Skyler and we get some nice punch exchange, a couple decent nearfalls, good enough for its purpose. Between facing Royal and then potentially facing Andrews if he somehow gets past Royal, I don't see Adler holding the TV title much longer. His reign of terror will be over!

PAS: Fun match, I really enjoy Kandrack as the CWF Undertaker, old guy who is semi-retired, but still comes in an wrecks everyone. It makes me want to go back and watch old Kandrack matches when he was more active. Tracer X is pretty flippy, not my favorite type of wrestler, but man does he take a nasty spear, Snooty just demolishes in mid air. I liked Andrews working full on babyface in this match, and then turning on the crowd during his heartfelt speech. Now just grow the beard back and go get Lee Valiant.

Zane & Dave Dawson vs. The Sandwich Squad

ER: This was a tough concept on paper, a Last Man Standing tag match. I don't know if I've ever seen one before, and it's probably because the execution and booking of one is difficult. You either need to get both men down for a 10 count at once, which seems incredibly difficult, or count men down individually and wind up with an awkward handicap match which should theoretically end shortly after (one man shouldn't be able to last long against two when there are no rules). So there was a little bit of awkward, mainly in the "I'm going to verrrry slowly get ready to hit you with a chair" spots, where one guy would slowly raise a chair and slowly walk toward his opponent, only to get kicked into the stomach or have the chair knocked away. Those spots could have been smoother. But there was some real pain in this match, and that made it work. We got a lot of painful chairshots, and since we rightly don't see many chairshots to the head anymore, we see the different violence brought from chairshots to awkward parts of the body-not-head. So guys take stinging shots to the shoulderblade and the elbow and Biggs gets a chair kicked into his freaking hand, and this little kid chants EAT! EAT! EAT! in a squeaky little cartoon voice. Biggs and Mecha each get chairshotted out of the air on crossbodies, and that looked tremendous. The Squad do a great fireworks spectacular to take out Zane, with Biggs hitting a superplex, Mecha dropping a couple of his great elbowdrops (and Mecha was really awesome this whole match, loved his sharp elbows to jaws and big headbutts), and Biggs hits a big splash while holding a chair. Great way to put a guy down for 10. The finish is some inspired bullshit, with all 4 men getting counted down all at once, looking for sure like nobody is going to respond, and Zane's (on the apron) legs fall over the side and land on the floor, leaving him in a standing position for the win at the 9 count. Pretty great way to have the Dawsons retain, that could have easily come off as cheap.

PAS: I liked this a bunch, and it was the best of the multiple Dawsons v. Squad matches we have seen over the last couple of months. Some of those chairshots were really nasty looking while not causing any brain damage.  I loved Mecha in this, he took and delivered a big time beating, and I loved his big Abdullah style elbow drops. I agree that the finish was really clever, it kept the belt on the Dawson's while still keeping the Sandwich Squad strong (although Pimpgate meant that this was their last appearance.)

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 126

Episode 126

1. Cain Justice/Ethan Alexander Sharpe vs. Dirty Daddy/Faye Jackson

PAS: Faye Jackson is a thick African American lady who works the thickness into her style. Early in she is kind of toying with Sharpe until he loses it and slaps her, I really like how Sharpe has been slowly getting meaner every week, and loved how Dirty Daddy went ballistic and started kicking his ass. This was primarily another showcase for the great Daddy v. Cain feud, and although they didn't have a ton of interactions, they were all great. I imagine the next week is their final singles for quite a while, and when they pick the feud back up in a year or two (maybe over the CWF title?) it will be epic stuff. Two intergender matches is two weeks is a little much, although I liked Jackson more then Alley Cat

ER: I like how Phil still hasn't noticed that Allie Cat is a pun name. Really Cat just needs to find a partner like Faye Jackson who can go by the name Junkyard Dawn and I'd happily seek out their tag matches. This match was a real good time, with comedy used the right amount and nicely balanced out by fast, heavy work. A few months ago Sharpe the whole match would have just been based around Sharpe going googly eyed every time his face would up in either sets of Faye's cleavage. This was a much more satisfying version of what could have been. With her assets you KNOW Faye is going to bring some butt offense, and it looks good, dropping that bombs away and really snapping that running hip attack in the corner. And I chuckled at Cecil Scott's "down with the thiccness" line. That's a t-shirt right there. I love the build to Sharpe snapping and just belting Faye with a huge chop, leading to a righteously pissed Daddy tagging his way in. Sharpe/Cain's interactions with Daddy were all good, with Cain dropping stomps and knees on Daddy's limbs, and Sharpe doing a nice necktie neckbreaker, a simple, cool move that looks like it could hurt the neck and the shoulder. Daddy's fiery comebacks are some of the best, and I love him flying into Sharpe with a headlock takeover that cared more about doing damage than looking pretty. His elbows down the stretch were suitably hard, you can buy each guy getting stunned by them. Real fun tag, obviously cannot wait for the singles blowoff.

2. Joshua Cutshall/Otto Schwanz vs. Sandwich Squad 

PAS: Really disappointing match. On paper this should be a blast, four big dudes smacking the crap out of each other is smack dab in the Segunda Caida wheelhouse. This however was mostly booking with Cutshall attacking his own partner, it seemed like he was working almost a Missing Link "doesn't understand wrestling" gimmick, which is sort of silly and something he doesn't need. I think Schwanz v. Cutshall could be great, but we could have gotten a good match and a post match angle to set that up, instead we got this waste of potential.

ER: Yeah this was a downer, and Phil is right that we could have at least gotten a good match that deteriorated at the end and blew up post match, instead of what we got. This on paper looks like a match that Segunda Caida would book, and those hurt the most when they end up wildly undershooting their mark. Cutshall as a guy who doesn't comprehend tag team wrestling is a bit much since we've seen him in plenty of actual matches where he clearly understands the rules. I'll give them some leeway, as they've earned it, and maybe it will eventually break down that he doesn't understand the concept of trusting another man and therefore thinks every tag match is just a 4 way. But I'm sure there are also tons of tags that he's performed normally in that I haven't seen. But they could go deep with this, explore his history of abuse that lead to his personality and his distrust, opening the doors for a face turn when someone actually reaches out and gets to the heart of his problems, allowing him to trust society again. That's probably a bit too heady for a pro wrestling show, but I'd have confidence in them pulling it off. I felt sorry for Biggs in this one, as he had the tough task of having to sell for an extended length of time while all the partner fighting unfolded, despite him not having taken much of a beating. I was hoping for a lot more from this, but we'll see where it winds up.

3. High Profile (Shea Shea McGrady/Will Demented) vs. The Gymnasty Boys (White Mike Jordan /Timmy Lou Retton) vs. The Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude/Rob Killjoy)

PAS: I totally loved this, it was just a balls to the wall crazy guy sprint, nobody outstayed their welcome, the big spots were big ass spots and everything was hit cleanly. First time I have seen the Gymnasty Boys and they are fun as shit. White Mike is great of course, and surprisingly at home in this kind of high difficulty spotfest, Retton is a big dude and insanely agile, he looks like a smaller Big E, but can flip like Red. I had never even heard of High Profile, but I dug them too, they look like Harmony Korine characters, and take crazy bumps. White Mike hits the best can opener I have ever seen on Shea Shea, who is 130 at most and thus really gets spun . Ducks are of course bumping like lunatics, and hitting nutty spots, I loved them hitting duel poison ranas on Retton and just spiking him on his head. I could watch a version of this match over and over again.

ER: Yes Yes Yes! A total burner that doesn't overstay its welcome, every guy playing to their strengths, all killer, yadda yadda yadda. This was everything it could have and should have been. I've loved the Ducks since first seeing them in CWF, and this was the showcase match for them, Lude especially. Lude keeps looking grimier and grimier and keeps wrestling crazier and crazier. Within the first minute he had hit a wild dive out to the floor past the turnbuckles, later he hit a big flip dive, got launched on Launchpad McQuack (that monkey flip into an insanely fast cannonball in the corner was my favorite spot of the match) and late in the match gets shoved far off the top rope into Coach Mikey on the floor (also, it's nice to see Coach Mikey back, I love that guy's look). Never seen High Profile before but would happily see more: big bumps, nice headscissors, cool combos (Demented went on a quick 15 second run ending with a whipping spinkick that all looked good). McGrady is lean and takes some big shots, and I might need to see him teaming with or matched up against "Weird Body" Evan Adams, Team Heroin Chic. Looking at them I wouldn't guess that White Mike and Retton would work so well in this kind of match, and if they did you'd think they'd be the bases for assorted craziness, but they work just as quick as anyone.\ and know how to integrate their big spots. Retton gets dropped by consecutive reverse ranas, Mike hits a huge sitout powerbomb, and Mike's can opener seems to defy physics as he spins McGrady around 10 times before snapping it. This whole thing was a bank full of money.  

4. Brass Knuckles on a Pole: Arik Royal vs. Snooty Foxx

PAS: Snooty Foxx main events in Chapel Hill are my favorite thing in 2017 wrestling. It is just a testament to the value of an engaged crowd with a rooting interest. Snooty is a home town hero, born and raised a block away from the community center where they run the shows. The crowd is clearly filled with friends and family who aren't looking for five star matches, but instead are looking for their cousin to whoop this guys ass. Royal is a master in this atmosphere, he has the cultural rhythms of a southern black crowd in his veins, and knows exactly how to roil them up. It is like watching Bernie Mac work his first Def Comedy Jam show. The work in the match was pretty basic, but the timing on the big spots was perfect, and I loved the brawling on the hoops court. The basketball right to Royal's head was awesome. They did some great teases of the brass knuckles, and a nifty BS finish with Royal using a second illegal pair of brass knuckles to KO Foxx, and then does a slight of hand switch out of the bad knucks for the good knucks. Standing ovation to whomever came up with burying Foxx under the Duke flag, just an incredible bit of troll theatre.

ER: This didn't hit me as hard as the Foxx/Wilkins Chapel Hill match did, but these Chapel Hill shows are total gravy. Royal knows how to play the crowd like a conductor, and Foxx doesn't need to play at all, just soak up all the love. Not much in wrestling beats a hot crowd, and while I liked the stuff in the ring (and you can see a lot of Foxx's improvements, things are getting a lot tighter, here he really cracks Royal with a flying back elbow), I was dying for them to take it to the floor. Sure enough, on the floor Royal knows exactly where to direct the action, knows exactly who to taunt. He tosses Snooty into a woman who doesn't break her absolutely furious staredown with him the entire time. Purse clutched to her lap, I probably would have lobbied Phil for this to be #1 on our MOTY list if that woman had stood up and cracked Royal with that purse. Royal is clearly directing traffic out there and you can see him tell Snooty just where to toss him into the crowd, and Royal is awesome at stumbling through chairs and falling into people, threatening to throw Snooty into a little girl who runs off hiding, just great stuff. The outside brawl is tons of fun, walking around the gymnasium and building to a great spot where someone throws Snooty a basketball and he banks it off Royal's head with a perfect chest pass (wish I hadn't seen a gif of that ahead of time as I would have lost it). Royal takes a nice bump into the fence around the basketball court, and there's a hundred fans crowded around them all losing it. Carey looked legit concerned that the crowd outside was going to start throwing stomps to Royal. Back inside and we start going after the knux, with both guys taking big knocks off the top (loved that big Snooty powerslam) and the final sneaky knux shot was finish worthy, both men played it huge. The fans get loud as hell and Royal starts chomping on a bag of sweet tarts as Foxx gets buried in the Duke flag. That's some cold business. Royal struts on our of there and still talks trash on his way out, heel through and through. This one didn't land with me like the Wilkins match, and I thought it had a few lesser moments (Royal was feeding Foxx and directing traffic a little too blatantly, and the Carey/Li attack to Snooty on the floor was some of the absolute weakest looking interference I've ever seen) and it didn't have that impossible frenzy of the babyface squad throwing actual money to the crowd, but this was a 20 minute smile for sure.

ER: We were told to be excited for the Chapel Hill episode, and I guess people are getting an idea of what we're into. The tag and Foxx/Royal landed on our 2017 Ongoing MOTY List, which is now ridiculously weighted towards CWF.

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Matches from EVOLVE 95 10/15/17

1. Darby Allin vs. Keith Lee

ER: On paper, I wanted Keith Lee smooshing Allin and throwing him as high and far as he could, and I wanted Allin to recklessly hurl his body at Lee. And guess what we got! Lee is massive so it's always pure joy to watch him catch someone like Allin mid armdrag, and things get to a peak level of joy when Allin goes for a springboard back elbow, and Lee sends his body flying with a pounce. Allin reaches literal new heights taking backdrops from Lee and just getting thrown by him, but eventually comes back with two monster sentons (one vaulting off Lee while Lee was on all fours, another no look senton to an all fours Lee from the top rope), but it is fleeting as Lee continues to crushing. This was what I wanted.

PAS: Totally fun stuff, Allin is great at working powerhouses, he had a great match in 2016 against Brian Cage and Keith Lee is a way better version of Brian Cage. I loved Allin going for his super high springboard arm drag and Lee just stopping him mid move and staring at him with disdain. I also loved all of Allin backdrop takes, Eddie Guerrero/Pat Tanaka level height. I also dig the selling on Lee's punches and headbutts, Allin almost convulses like he is OD'ing. I am buying Allin's offense more too, those sentons and the code red looked like they could plausibly end a match. Lee has a ton of charisma and big time offense and is a great choice to hold a title for EVOLVE going forward. Lee v. Odinson and Allin v. Odinson are going to rule in completely different ways.

2. Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson/Jaka) vs. The Gymnasty Boyz (White Mike Jordan/Timmy Lou Retton) vs. Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude/Rob Killjoy)

ER: Another match delivering what I was hoping it to on paper. It's pretty amusing that White Mike of all people is now technically working in the WWE feeder system. And if Ellsworth can make it then I see no reason why White Mike couldn't be the next Santino. Doom Patrol (ugh has there ever been a good tag team name in the last 15 years of indie tag wrestling?) keep getting better. You squint and they're now like an indy wrestling Arn/Ole, especially Dickinson who I think really resembles Arn and even moves like him (maybe moves even more like Buzz Sawyer). They were a total force in this match, just throwing stiff ugly shots the whole match. Dickinson was super explosive; it felt like the whole match was spent with him running after someone with pure hate in his eyes like Sonny Corleone going after Carlo. So you have Dickinson just stomping and clubbing guys, and Jaka throwing spin kicks, and I think Jaka's kicks actually work because they don't look pretty, so he'll bounce his shin across someone's head and then crash, but it feels more dangerous. And look no further than late in the match when Jaka gets WAY too much speed and does a hard dive all the way over Killjoy, crashing through chairs, and then Dickinson beats the absolute shit out of Killjoy. You can practically hear him shouting "This is for making my boy look bad!" Ducklings are great fun, they make offense look good and they take big risks, and we build to them hitting huge concurrent dives past the ringposts, twice! Retton misses a pretty spectacular shooting star, White Mike's swinging guillotine neckbreaker is always going to look awesome against a Duckling, and now I want more of this Dickinson/Jaka Wrecking Crew.

PAS: Gymnasties and Ducks are pretty regular dance partners (they have a great three way with High Profile on the Chapel Hill CWF show) and have a bunch of fun spots together. Most of the CWF White Mike I have seen is as a comedy wrestler, it is pretty shocking to see him break out such athletic moves here. I would have liked to see a little more White Mikeishness here, let him do some talking or some sleazing. Really loved Catch Point here, I am a Dickinson fan and have been back when it was less popular, but he was at another level in this match. His vicious beating of Killjoy felt like something Tenryu might do, and indy Tenryu is an exciting idea.

3. Fred Yehi vs. Matt Riddle

ER: This had all the elements of a match I would like, and I like the two men involved, but nothing here really grabbed me; the whole thing felt a little hollow. Am I burned out on the Catch Point style? Possibly, though probably not considering we have several Catch Point style matches in the top portion of our MOTY List. This was not a bad match at all, not in the least. Most of the time it felt like a very good match, it just never reached out and grabbed me. It may even be a better match than the two matches reviewed above, but I was fully along for the ride on those. My main gripe on this one was that some of the comebacks didn't feel natural, and it felt like we built to maybe too many peaks. Early grappling was good, especially liked Yehi kneeling on Riddle's thigh and the struggle over a knucklelock. Once we get to our standing chop exchange I liked the twist Yehi added by stomping on Riddle's bare foot, holding him somewhat in place while he both hurts the foot and blisters Riddle's chest. Riddle pays nice salesman service to both the foot and his chest throughout the rest of the match. You never really see a guy sell his chest. The other week I had this random tender spot on my upper chest, below my collarbone. It wasn't a muscle ache, it was clearly some painful to the touch spot on my skin, and I have no clue why it was there, no clue where it went later that day, but I know for a couple hours I made several "I got stung by a bee!!" faces whenever my sweater happened to rub that spot. So I know skin can get weirdly painful, especially when a compact man is throwing nasty chops at it. So I liked that Riddle was manly enough to show that he was not enjoying these chest based attacks. Riddle eventually pays him back with some heavy kicks to the chest, after planting Yehi on the apron. I didn't love the use of suplexes in the match. It never felt like suplex trading, but they also didn't feel very important, especially for how great their suplexes can look. Often we would get a big suplex and it would just lead to one of those moments where both guys stay down. Or they would be too telegraphed, like when Riddle threw a lazy missed clothesline for the intention of getting suplexed into the buckles. I also thought Yehi's Koji clutch applications were a little too spotty, though I liked the finish of Riddle passing out in the clutch. There was plenty to like about the match, both guys clearly worked hard, and there were tons of cool moments (especially loved how high Riddle commits to sentons, so he either misses big or hits big), it just left me a little cold.

PAS: This felt a little like pimped Chris Hero PWG main events of the mid 2000s. There was a lot to like in individual parts of the match, but it felt like it needed the wrestling version of Thelma Schoonmaker to edit it together to a great match, just a bit too long and a bit too shaggy. I really liked a lot of the chops and kicks, loved the finish with the Koji clutch, but they kind of felt like they had a tight 15 stretched into 25. Just too many suplexes which went nowhere and running elbows for no reason. I need to watch their other match this year to see if it came together better.

4. Tracy Williams vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

ER: Killer scrap that mostly played to both guys' strengths, meaning I'm happy they stuck to mostly mat twisting and great reversals and limited the strikes. The two (brief) strike portions were clearly the weakest of the match, with a floppy seated slap fight and a standing exchange that even had a "Shades of Frye/Takayama!" commentary cherry on top. but the ankle twisting and shoulder bending was legit, and they even broke out some tricks I hadn't seen. It's good to keep adding tricks as they've had so many of these matches already the last couple years that it's easy to start feeling "same-y". So when Williams grabs Sabre in a fireman's carry and plants him knee first into the mat, or Sabre brains himself doing a northern lights but feels it worthwhile because it created an opening on Williams' arm, or Sabre going for a trademark seated hammerlock and Williams just yanks his arm out of reach and looks at Sabre like "bitch I've seen you wrestle before", or Williams adding a fun twist to the standing strikes by perfectly timing and swiping Sabre's attacks out of the air; blocking strikes like that can look like the worst kind of pre-planning dancing, but I thought they handled it great. The leg twisting and wrist bending was all really good, and I have no clue how they aren't going to all end up with stiff immobile joints by the time they're 36. I thought things built real nicely, and I liked the almost flash pin ending. Williams had been too slippery to lock anything too convincing on, and Williams was easily beating him almost any time they stood, so Sabre went to one of his underrated strengths: tight cradles on pinfall attempts. Sabre did an immaculate rolling clutch, locking Williams' wrists and adjusting his hips to make Williams' kick out leverage weak, and stole the pin. Very satisfying.

PAS: I am surprised I liked this so much more then Yehi v. Riddle, as I am normally much higher on those two guys. It feels like ZSJ may have absorbed some of Negro Navarro's mat stuff, as I don't remember his twisting looking this damaging. Williams has delivered some of the more cringeworthy moments I have seen in wrestling in the last couple of years, but if you stick him on the mat he can hang, and I liked how his more basic Billy Robinson style mat wrestling meshed with Sabre's flourishes. Eric is forgetting the part where they exchanged pump kicks, which looked awful, I really wish Gabe's memo also forbid strike exchanges. Liked the finish a lot too, and it was a good bit of commentary to treat the pin as almost a cop out, Sabre wanted to tap him, and when he couldn't he had to escape.

ER: We also get a super fun locker room-clearing brawl that peaks with Darby Freaking Allin doing his no look coffin drop not just off a basketball hoop, but off a basketball backboard. I will love watching Allin until his inevitable wrestling-related death at age 28. I'm happy I went out of my way to watch a bunch of this card. All these matches except for Riddle/Yehi are going on our 2017 Ongoing MOTY List.

PAS: This was dope, I love Garinni as shoot style Big Bubba, and I liked how he just waded in and attacked, both of the wrestlers in The End are convincing scary white nationalist looking dudes. Allin is a complete nutter, honestly the closest thing we have in indy wrestling to mid 90s Sabu

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 101

Episode 101

1. Arik Royal/Roy Wilkins vs. Dirty Daddy/Snooty Foxx

PAS: Just a great, compact, formula southern tag match. Daddy and Foxx are already very good at the babyface role in a tag match, Daddy bumps big, sells well and times his comebacks, Foxx is a good power hot tag, kind of babyface Nikita Koloff (which is a total compliment BTW). Royal and Wilkins are great at cutting off the ring, having an interesting set of beat down offense and talking shit. This has a nice Daddy in peril section, good Foxx tag, a great cut off of Foxx (Royal obliterates him with a nasty lariat) and a nice short finish run. This is everything you want from an Elite 8 seven minute tourney southern tag match.

ER: This wasn't the match I expected, and that's a good thing. Fox really impressed me as he worked a long control segment with Wilkins, and he had mainly been seen as a hot tag guy before this. He's clearly improving, given more and more responsibility each match, and I liked him roughing up Wilkins. Royal was great when he tagged in, sending a tired Wilkins running towards Fox to distract him, then blasting Fox with a killer western lariat. And that finish by the All-Stars is absolute murder. Also, forget when exactly, but Wilkins did a dropkick to Daddy while Daddy was lying down and it looked awesome. Pretty sure that's a spot we've seen from him before, but this is the best I've seen It look. Really dug this, good showing by all.

2. The Carnies vs. Ethan Alexander Sharpe/White Mike Jordan

PAS: This opens with a long dance off and a section where White Mike plays cornhole, oof, it felt like a college improv troupe stuck in a bad idea with no way to get out. When the match finally started it was OK, until the end where Sharpe stops in the middle of the match to start lecturing Jordan on his behavior, as they are doing a poor mans Bobby Eaton with the Blue Bloods gimmick. I like Jordan and the Carnies (could do without Sharpe) but this was overall a stinker.

ER: I'm watching this cornhole segment thinking "Phil might be letting me review CWF shows solo from here on out". This is an accurate approximation of Schneider wrestling hell. The fact that we don't even get the cornhole story paid off with a winner is another problem entirely. I wanted to see how legit White Mike's shot was. But it was a way for the Carnies to eventually jump their opponents, which ehhhh fine whatever. Loved the Carnies here once the match got started. Awful especially had some big moments, huge chops, stooged around nicely for a shot, hits the best bombs away butt splash in the biz, really starting to come across like a Dick Murdoch son who has at least two Avenged Sevenfold CDs. I wanted more from the match overall, but the Carnies finisher is legit and I'm glad Sharpe got punished for wasting everyone's time.

3. Ugly Ducklings vs. Joshua Cutshall/Tracer X

PAS: Fun tag which is the most workratey match of this round. Lots of pretty complicated spots which were timed well, fun dynamic with three little flyers and Cutshall as a big heavyweight cracking everyone. I really enjoy Lance Lude, he seems to be made of jello on his bumps and hits some pretty elaborate armdrags and ranas. Didn't think the interlude between Stokely and Coach Mikey was needed, and the end might have had one reversal too many, but I mostly enjoyed this. Would like to see WWN use Cutshall with Tracer X as a team in FIP or EVOLVE, they really have nice chemistry.

ER: I'm pretty much with Phil down the line on this one. I like both these teams and liked how they matched up, Ducks bring the bumps and Killjoy even throws some surprisingly stiff shots. I love matches that have dives right next to a barrier-free crowd, always seems crazy to me. I really liked all the workrate-y exchanges, though I think Cutshall's wind up elbow should be more of a KO blow, felt like they moved on from that shot too quickly. The manager moment of the match I guess allowed for some recovery time, and while it was overall pointless I didn't mind too much as I like Mikey's look. Didn't expect the upset and I have a feeling this might set them up to be crushed by the All Stars...

4. Tripp Cassidy/Cain Justice vs. Sandwich Squad

PAS: Really fun five minute potato fest. Basically all four guys just laid into each other. Cassidy and Biggs had a really fun exchange of shots with Cassidy using throat thrusts and backfists and Biggs laying in headbutts. The finish was nasty with Biggs obliterating Justice with a pop up forearm, before the Hero's sandwich. I really enjoyed Justice's KO selling, as he really looked like a boxer or an MMA fighter who didn't know what arena he was in.

ER: I wanted more of a showing for Justice/Cassidy in this one, they both got in shots (especially Cassidy with a bunch of cool strikes to Biggs) but it never totally felt like Sandwich Squad were taking them seriously. I thought the heels deserved better, especially Cain who got a little steamrolled. I don't typically mind the Squad steamrolling guys, but I wanted a bit more competitiveness. Nice showing for the Squad, though, they at least looked like killers.

5. Sandwich Squad vs. The Carnies

PAS: Carnies jump the Sandwich Squad at the bell and they have a short violent sprint. I like how they are building this feud with The Carnies getting more and more desperate. The Aaron Biggs running splash felt like a KO blow and I loved how it was sold. I have a feeling a big blowoff is coming between these two team and I am excited about it.

ER: If you're going to blow things up in just a couple minutes, you do it like this. Carnies jump the Squad right after their win, Cassidy sticks around to help with the beatdown, Awful locks in a mean leg submission, but this short match was ALLLLL about Biggs' running Thesz Press. Holy shit that was a finish! It felt like a bullied high school fat kid finally just snapped and just ran body first into his antagonizer with the goal of crushing him through cement. These teams should have a good feud down the line.

6. All-Stars vs. Ugly Ducklings

PAS: Lance Lude comes into this match with a bad knee, and the All-Stars work a great "guy with a bad knee" tag match. Brutalize Lude, until he gets a hot tag, let hubris get the best of them and almost lose, and then do some cheap shit to pull out the win. Ducklings are great in ring bumpers and were flying around for all of the All-Stars big moves. Short and perfectly worked for this situation.

ER: Yeah yeah yeah this was easily my favorite match on the show, really loved this. I found myself really rooting for the Ducklings to advanced and surprised myself by how pissed I got when Gemini interfered, leading to the All-Stars win. Lude turns in an awesome performance, limping around and taking vicious bumps, fighting like mad, standing up like a man, scrambling for that hot tag. Killjoy comes in and lands some great shots, but also takes a brutal lariat. Perfect amount of time for what they were going for, and while I still REALLY wanted that upset, I'm sure All-Stars/Sandwich is gonna be a killer. Damn, just can't get over all the awesome scrambling here, those early parts where Royal was just trying to contain Lude. Great short match.

PAS: Another great round of tourney matches, I really did not like the White Mike cornhole horseshit, but otherwise all of the matches were good, and different and smartly worked. We set up a sensible final which should be an excellent match.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 98

Episode 98

1. The Dirty Blondes (Mike Patrick/Leo Brien) vs. Sandwich Squad (Aaron Biggs/Mecha Mercenary)

ER: I dig the Sandwich Squad, but then suddenly CWF presents me with a couple of new chubsters and I'm like a raccoon with a shiny object when it comes to new fat guys in wrestling. So they present me with two new chubs, with a great team name, and expect me to not root for them!? So I was rooting for an upset, but this was mostly an extended Sandwich Squash. The Blondes got one little run in the middle, and I really like Brien definitely bringing the Dusty vibes and he threw a great overhand right (that kind of right hand that has a downward trajectory on it, like he's punching down across the nose bridge). But the Squad is too tough, loved the drop down to trip Brien followed by the Mercenary splash. Ending had a couple hitches but this was fun.

PAS: Dirty Blonders were a bunch of fun, tubby, bleach blond hair, big bumps, multiple Dusty elbow combos, just a blast to watch. Would like to see them in a long competitive grudge match. This was a squash, which is literal when you are talking about the Sandwich Squad. Love all the different ways the Squad has to land their flab on someone.

2. HIM/SIS vs. Ethan Alexander Sharpe/"White" Mike Jordan

ER: I didn't care for any of the "Sharpe wants to bang SIS" part of this, as I think it took away from a lot of the cool stuff SIS did, and it's a shame as I liked her more than anyone else in the match. Her low crossbody in the ropes was awesome (and look how expertly she rolls out of the way), she had a cool fast standing splash, and I always love her headbutts. Now the HIM/SIS gimmick is incredibly goofy, but it's tough when they have a goofy gimmick AND their opponents treat them like jokes. White Mike gets to run the home stretch, and he whiffs on a double neckbreaker, then does a can opener neckbreaker finish that just looks like he DDTs himself.

PAS: I liked this a lot more then Eric did, I think both HIM and SIS have really nasty offense, and considering how bad they stiffed Jordan and Sharpe I don't think they were treated like jokes. I also think White Mike's finish looks awesome, and it is impressive he pulled it off on a chunky dude like HIM.

3. The Lynch Mob (Joey & Matt Lynch) vs. The Carnies (Nick Iggy/Kerry Awful)

ER: This was fine, though the Lynch Mob didn't do much for me. It felt like for every one nice thing they would do, you'd get something meh a moment later. Carnies don't totally feel authentic to their gimmick, but I liked them in-ring. So I didn't care much for the early parts with Lynch Mob controlling, but once Awful cheapshotted and Iggy followed it up with an awesome dropkick on the mat I was into it. Iggy hits a sick full weight senton, and the finishing stretch was particularly brutal: Iggy disposes one of the Mob to the floor in nasty fashion, Awful hits kind of a sloppy powerbomb on the other and locks in a Boston crab, as Iggy hits a killer kneepad-down kneedrop off the middle buckle to the back of the head. That's a good finisher.

PAS: Lynch Mob felt a little PWGish for me, but I thought the Carnies were killer in this. Awful is a pretty great fat dude and has a bunch of fun ways to throw his flab into people, Iggy is really vicious and I like how he ties in his crazy gimmick with some really violent assaults. The ending was really nasty with Iggy driving his full weight with a knee drop into the back of a Lynch's head and then follows it up with really nasty ground and pound forearms for a stoppage. I want to check out the three way now, as adding Iceberg and Tank can only be an improvement.

4. Lee Valiant/Aric Andrews vs. The Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude/Rob Killjoy)

ER: This had a lot of moving parts, and I think it didn't work because of that. It felt like the whole match was one guy running at another guy, that guy dodging, and then doing a kind of clunky move in response, and then a new guy running at them. It came off too busy, without much substance happening. I liked the last Ducklings appearance, as unhinged big bumping loons. This didn't have as much of that, Lude came off crazier in his last appearance. Killjoy took a big bump off a lariat, and both did dives (into the Hales contingent), but this was all worked pretty even. There was a lot of hinky move set-up by the Ducks, and I just don't think much of it worked this time. Andrews threw a great cut off punch down the stretch, and Valiant always comes out with a great aggressive attitude, but this landed short.

PAS: I liked all the cutting off of the ring that Valient and Andrews did, and if the end run was a bit shorter and polished I would have really dug this. The Ducklings monkey flip senton thing is really cool, as is Valient and Andrews Doomsday device backcracker, this just felt like it kept going though with the cooler stuff more in the middle then the end, it built to a creshendo and then kept going past its natural end point.

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CWF Mid-Atlantic Worldwide Episode 92

1. Ugly Ducklings (Colby Corino, Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) vs. White Mike Jordan/Donnie Dollars/Ethan Alexander Sharpe

ER: I really enjoyed this, classic stooge-y, silly trios match. I've liked what I've seen from the heel side, and I hadn't seen two of the Ducklings before but enjoyed them as well. At least I thought I hadn't, as Lance Lude looks ENTIRELY different than the last time I saw him, several years ago in ROH. If this is the same guy, I'd say this is a step up. He came off like unhinged Pequeno Mark Briscoe, would really like to see more of him. I dug his look, dug how he moved, how he took offense (especially a killer spot with White Mike swinging him around in a front headlock). Killjoy had some fun springboard dropkicks, Corino seems to be improving and has put on a little weight; I think I really dig the Ducklings. Sharpe and Jordan are a fun team, real good at stooging (Sharpe with the bumps and Jordan with the faces), but I can see them getting a more sinister side. Dollars had a couple fun moments; tossing all three Ducks was a fun spot on paper, ridiculous in execution, but I like that they went for it.

PAS: Really fun opening trios, I could have done without the Hardy's coming out in the middle and doing their tired shtick, but I was all in on the actual ring work. This makes me want to seek out more Ducklings as they are great as a a trio of big bumping sleazeballs. I hadn't seen Killjoy before as he seemed to come at weird angles almost Fred Yehish. White Mike is a blast, great John Tatumish stooging and had some killer offense too. Fun stuff.

2. Cain Justice vs. Dirty Daddy

ER: I'm surprised to hear them say Justice is a rookie. There's a few holes there but there's a lot of things he does well. I like a lot of his roll ups, his cheating, his attitude; he looks like a redneck MMA Michael Pitt. This match felt a lot shorter than its 7 minute run time, had some nice logical counters (really liked Daddy's simple sunset flip roll up off the backpack piledriver), snug pins, Daddy has some nice punches off his back and a nice side headlock, just a nice simple match between two guys who seem like they know each other.

PAS: I really liked their BattleCade match, and I enjoyed this a bunch too. Cain Justice is already really good, and very fun to watch. I loved the switch of the armbar when Daddy was in the ropes, and his kicking of the tied up arm. We didn't get to see Cain's nasty finish in this match, which may put it a step blow the BattleCade match, although he did have some nice grappling.

3. John Skyler/C.W. Anderson vs. Roy Wilkins/Arik Royal vs. The Hardy Boys

ER: Was really hoping for this one to go about twice as long as it got, but I really enjoyed it for what it was. They easily could have milked this for 18 without it feeling long, but oh well. The crowd was hot for it, I thought CW looked great, and really that's enough for me. I'd love to see any combo of tag team battles between these three teams, hope this isn't the end of it. My favorite stuff was probably CW opposite Royal, loved the bit of character CW put into it. He chopped Royal's chest and then over-cringed when Royal chopped him back, rinse/repeat, then when CW tagged out he postured for a bit...before buckling his knees slightly, squinting and feeling his chest. They say in baseball that you never rub it after getting hit by a pitch, so I love CW putting over Royal's strike power by succumbing to rubbing it. CW also threw easily the best forearms in the match, and still has that left hand, even if Jeff almost flubbed the timing of it. Jeff flubbing timing and spots could have been the story of the match, if the other guys weren't so on point. Jeff botched both Hardy double teams (somersaulting in place on the senton/fistdrop and somehow whiffing on the legdrop to the groin) and stiffed the hell out of CW on the finish swanton (which, at least looked good). Matt looked much better and I'd love a CW/Matt singles match. Loved Skyler's spit take off a Jeff back elbow, loved Wilkins' golf swing uppercut on CW, the trainwreck finisher run from everybody was fun, so overall I liked this. Just really wanted a lot more time. Most importantly, CW Anderson is apparently ageless and still awesome.

PAS: I thought they treated the Hardy's a little too much like the Road Warriors here. They kind of ate both teams up, and I left this wanting to see Extreme Horseman v. All Stars a lot more then either team against the Hardy's. All four of the other guys in the match looked great, busting out nasty offense against each other, and bumping big for the big shotting Hardy Boys. I am seconding the CW Anderson love, he looked great against Converse at BattleCade, and great here. I would be really excited to see him in the mix in CWF-MA, Anderson v. Lee, v. Royal, v. Everett, v. Attitude all would be awesome.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

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